Proving BBC Wrong!

So, way back in May MovieCritic tagged me with this quite unusual tag.
Apparently BBC have made a list of classics of which they don't believe people have read more than 6!

Preposterous, I know!

So because I love proving big know-it-all institutions wrong, and because I feel a little guilty of not yet answering this tag, here it is:


                               

The Rules:
1. Be honest.
2. Put an asterisk next to the ones you have read all the way through. Put an addition sign next to the ones you have started.
3. Tag as many people as these books that you have read.

1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen*

2. Gormenghast Trilogy - Mervyn Peake
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte*
4. Temple of the Golden Pavilion - Yukio Mishima5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Story of the Eye - George Bataille
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte*
8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell*
9. Adrift on the Nile - Naguib Mahfouz
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott*
12. Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14. Rhinoceros - Eugene Ionesco
15. Baron in the Trees - Italo Calvino
16. The Master of Go - Yasunari Kawabata
17. Woman in the Dunes - Abe Kobo
18. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19. The Feast of the Goat - Mario Vargas Llosa
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot
21. Gogol's Wife - Tomasso Landolfi
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald*
23. Magic Mountain - Thomas Mann (But I have read Budenbrooks by Thomas Mann, which as far as I know is an even bigger classic of his)
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. Ferdydurke - Gombrowicz
26. Narcissus and Goldmund - Herman Hesse
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll*
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32. The Jungle - Upton Sinclair33. Tom Sawyer / Huck Finn - Mark Twain
34. Emma -Jane Austen* 
35. Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe*
36. Delta Wedding - Eudora Welty
37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38. Naomi - Junichiro Tanizaki
39. Cosmicomics - Italo Calvino
40. The Joke - Milan Kundera
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell
42. Labyrinths - Gorge Luis Borges
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45. Under My Skin - Doris Lessing
46. Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery*
47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48. Don Quixote - Miguel Cervantes
49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50. Absalom Absalom - William Faulkner
51. Beloved - Toni Morrison
52. The Flounder - Gunther Grass
53. Dead Souls - Nikolai Gogol
54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen*
55. My Name is Red - Orhan Pamuk
56. A Doll's House - Henrik Ibsen (But I've read Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen, so that should count as something)
57. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens*
58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59. The Idiot - Fodor Dostoevesky
60. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63. Leaves of Grass - Walt Whitman
64. Death on the Installment Plan - Celine
65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas*
66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68. Pedro Paramo - Juan Rulfo
69. Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70. Moby Dick - Herman Melville*
71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens*
72. Dracula - Bram Stoker
73. The Metamorphosis - Kafka
74. Epitaph of a Small Winner - Machado De Assis
75. Ulysses - James Joyce
76. The Inferno - Dante
77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78. Germinal - Emile Zola
79. The Light House - Virginia Woolf
80. Disgrace - John Maxwell Coetzee
81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82. Zorba the Greek Nikos Kazantzakis
83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84. The Box Man - Abe Kobo
85. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87. The Stranger - Camus (But I have read The Fall by Camus, still should count)
88. Acquainted with the Night - Heinrich Boll
89. Don't Call It Night - Amos Oz
90. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton (This is unfair! I've read tons of her books but not this particular one)
91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93. Gravity's Rainbow - Thomas Pychon
94. Memoirs of Hadrian, Marguerite Yourcenar
95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96. Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe
97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas*
98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare*
99. Faust - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe**
100. Metamorphosis - Ovid


Results:
17 read out of 100 (plus the 3 titles that technically wasn't on the list, but was a lesser known work by that same author)
1 started

Mission accomplished!
BBC proven wrong!!

I'm gonna break that third rule and not tag anyone, but if you read this post and thinks this sounds fun, by all means fill it out:)

On Past And Future Reading Projects

I'm always trying to get more reading done and nothing motivates like a reading challenge, right?

At least, that's what I'm telling myself year after year when I sign up to yet another reading challenge that I fully intend to complete, but deep down know I wont.

Last year's project was The 12 Months Classics Challenge.
The mission: read 12 classics in a year. A quite simple and easy goal to accomplish.

So did I finish it?

Need you even ask? Of course I didn't!

Then was it a failure? Not at all!

Though I didn't get through all 12 books I read 6 of them - books I wouldn't have read if not for the challenge. And I discovered 2 new instant favourites, so last year was by no means wasted on the literary front.

Let me briefly tell you my thoughts on the books I read:

January- A classic you've always wanted to read
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë 
I fell completely in love with this book right from the start. I'd wanted to read it for more than 10 years but the timing never seemed right (and because I knew I would love it, I needed to be in the right mood before starting it).
It was brilliantly written. And just the vocabulary used impressed me (I had to look so many words up in the dictionary). And off course Jane!! I loved Jane. She is such a wonderful character.
Mr Rochester on the other hand, I wasn't very impressed with. It wasn't until the end of the book I started liking him. But what an ending! And What a book.
In case you haven't guessed it, this was an instant new favourite.

                                                 

February- A classic you've always dreaded reading
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

I thought I would have to drag myself through this play with sheer will power, but I must say I liked it a great deal more than expected. Rationally the plot makes little sense and I generally dislike mushy romances and love at first sight, but the plot just sucked me in and all the speeches were so sweet that I just bought it all for a little while. And that ending was so tragic, even though I knew it was coming. So all in all, I actually liked it and wouldn't mind reading it again someday in the far future.

                                         

March- A classic you've been recommended
The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery

Everyone in the blogging world was gushing about this book so I decided to read it, and boy am I glad I did. Never have I felt so instantly drawn to a character as I did to Valancey and her sad life. And it's been a long time since I enjoyed a book more than this one. I may even like it better than the Anne-books, because it's just so thoroughly sweet and delightful and it makes you all happy and gooey inside. Another instant favourite!

                                    

April- A classic you've seen the movie/miniseries/TV show of
The Code Of The Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse
The one word to describe this book is hilarious! Wodehouse's books have the ability to make me shriek with laughter all the way through and this was no exception. If you' enjoyed the TV show, I can promise you taht you will enjoy the book even more!

                                        
May- An American classic
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stove
To tell you the truth, I never really got into this book. The characters were good the plot was good but the narrator was really obnoxious. And when I had to return the book to the library I realised that with only 70 pages left of the book I didn't really care what happened to everyone. So I technically never finished it, but I am still counting it as read.

                                     

June- A British classic
The Hound Of The Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle
A truly classic Sherlock Holmes story that I had somehow never read or watched so it was with bated breath I read this book. I love Sherlock Holmes so naturally I loved this book as well, and can now say that I've read all 3 Sherlock Holmes novellas.


There! That's brief reviews on all the classics I read last year.

I actually promised myself to not start any new reading projects this year and instead focus on rereading my favourite books. That soon turned into dubbing this the year of non-fiction, but let's see which of the projects I stick with;)

And as fate will have it, I had no sooner given myself the above mentioned promise before I stumbled upon Heidi's Adventure of Reading Challenge 2017. And as I cannot resist a good challenge I just have to be a part of it. This year I will be wise and do like Heidi herself: start at the Explorer level that is 3-5 books, and then take it from there.

                                      

I do not yet know what I will be reading, but I will make a page dedicated to this project and add books as I think of them (in case anyone is interested in my progress)

Do you have any reading projects for 2017?

Anne Of Green Gables Tag

As you may have noticed from the button, these days Miss Evie is hosting an Anne Of Green Gables Week at Over The Hills.          

10 days dedicated to Anne can only be great as we all know;)

To kick the week off Evie has made this delightful tag, and here are my answers:                

1. How did you get introduced to Anne of Green Gables?

Originally my mother showed me first part of the movie, but for some strange reason I didn't like it and therefore didn't finish it.
A few years later, however, one of our friends gave me the book, and now I loved it! (And I also love the movie today)


2. Are you more like Anne or Diana? Why?

Definitely Anne! If in doubt I refer to the banner at the bottom of my blog;)
No seriously, I, like Anne, have a very vivid imagination, I love dreaming me away to far off places and create dramatic stories in my head. And I like using big words too:) 

                                

3. If Rachel Lynde called your hair as red as carrots how would you react? 

I would politely ask her if she needed new glasses, as my hair is obviously not red but blond;)


4. Gilbert or Morgan Harris? 

Gilbert!

                                 

5. Honest opinion on the third Anne film. 

It should never have been made!
There was plenty of source material for a sequel, so I don't understand why anyone would throw it away and simply make up a new plot.
 

6. Have you seen the New Anne film? 

No, but I just watched the trailer, and despite Gilbert looking all wrong, I think it could be fun to watch.


7. What in your own words is a Kindred Spirit?

A Kindred Spirit is when another persons thoughts are in sync with your own, and when there are thoughts you can't properly express in words, they still know exactly what you mean.

                     

8.  Movie Gilbert or Green Gables Fables Gilbert?

I haven't watched Green Gables Fables, but I don't think anyone can compare with movie Gilbert.


9.  Does anyone know where we can watch Road to Avonlea online?

No, sadly not.

10. Favourite book cover? 

This one:

                                


11. The Films or The Books?

The books, always the books!
The films may be good, but they're not very true to the books (except the first one), and what I love about the books are all the little vignettes of Anne's everyday life and adventures:)

Inkling Explorations And A Lady's Dress

It's time for the monthly Inkling Explorations!

This month's theme is: a description of a lady's dress in literature.

Luckily for me, Heidi allowed entries written in September, so without further ado here is a lovely little scene from Anne Of Green Gables:  

"Anne took the dress and looked at it in reverent silence. Oh, how pretty it was—a lovely soft brown gloria with all the gloss of silk; a skirt with dainty frills and shirrings; a waist elaborately pintucked in the most fashionable way, with a little ruffle of filmy lace at the neck. But the sleeves—they were the crowning glory! Long elbow cuffs, and above them two beautiful puffs divided by rows of shirring and bows of brown-silk ribbon."

For more descriptions of frills, ruffles and finery, don't forget to visit the link-up on Heidi's blog.

Inkling Explorations and Violets

There is a new literary link up starting at Heidi's author blog for lovers of good stories, and especially for those who love finding funny little details in stories.

This month's theme is violets! 

It took me quite some time to think of a book where violets were mentioned (and I may have had to rely on Heidi's hints to possible stories), but I went with an excerpt from " By The Shores of Silver Lake" by Laura Ingalls Wilder:

"There was Grace! There in a great pool of blue sat Grace! the sun shone on her golden hair blowing in the wind. She looked up at Laura with big eyes as blue as violets. Her hands were full of violets. She held them up to Laura and said: "Sweet, sweet". 

 Laura sank down and took Grace in her arms. She held Grace carefully and panted for breath. Grace leaned over her arms to reach for more violets. They were surrounded by masses of violets blossoming above low spreading leaves. Violets covered the flat bottom of the large round hollow. All around this lake of violets, grassy banks rose almost straight up to the prarie level. there and around the low place the wind hardly disturbed the fragance of the violets. 

The sun was warm there the sky was overhead the green walls of grass curved all around and butterflies fluttered over the crowding violet faces"

I always loved this chapter of the book with the wonderful description of a dreamy hollow of violets in the middle of the prarie.

For more scenes of violets check out the link-up at Heidi's blog.

My Reading Projects

Last year was not a good year for my classic reading, so when 2015 came around nice and fresh, I decided this would be a year for reading a big chunk of my To Read List and for rereading a lot of my old favourites.

Let's just say I got a rough start, and couldn't concentrate on reading anything the entire winter. But with spring comes motivation, and when I am motivated to do something I start making lists. 

Books on my To Read List that I'm actually gonna read this year

Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell (it's been on my shelf for almost a year now)

Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens

The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle

The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse

Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare


It's not that long yet, but I should actually have a chance of finishing it. And when I do I can always pick more from the other (quite ambitious) lists I made. (One is never enough) 

New books added to my To Read List

Bleak House by Charles Dickens

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (so much Dickens, so little time)

Middlemarch by George Elliot

Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stove

Lorna Doone by Richard Doddridge Blackmore

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe (just for laughs, and background for
                                                                                      Northanger Abbey)
The Time Machine by H.G. Wells

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

More Works of William Shakespeare

Books I want to reread

Ivanhoe by Walter Scott

Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

Persuasion by Jane Austen

Emma by Jane Austen

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (I know I just read it, but who says you                                                                                can't reread a book on a regular basis)
North & South by Elizabeth Gaskell

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (the unabridged version this time)

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

Watership Down by Richard Adams

Rebecca by Daphne De Maurier


And suddenly my innocent little project evolved into 3 monster lists, with more than enough reading projects for this year. (And probably the next few years too)

(By the way, I do also read modern books but I only blog about the classics)

The Bookshelf Tag

Nathalie from Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens has invented this delightful tag, and never being one to resist a tag I just had to do it.

Here goes!



Describe your bookshelf (or wherever it is you keep your books-it doesn't actually have to be a shelf!) and where you got it from:

My bookshelf is not so much a shelf, more a giant bookcase containing movies, cd's, books and anything else that can fit on the shelves. Apart from that I have a shelf by the window, which was empty when I moved here but is now filled with books too. (I also have 3-4 bags of books in the basement, but they won't feature here)


Do you have any special or different way of organizing your books?

I usually put books by the same author together, but apart from that I organise them after height.


What's the thickest (most amount of pages) book on your shelf?

That title goes to my lovely The Complete Novels Of Jane Austen at 1432 pages

What's the thinnest (least amount of pages) book on your shelf?

That took quite some research but I managed to find it. The thinnest book I own is a Tintin album (62 pages) called Explorers On The Moon (It's technically a cartoon, but it is bound as a book so I count it as a book)


What's the smallest (height and width wise) book on your shelf?

That's a tie between North & South and Cranford, though Cranford is the thinnest one.


What's the biggest (height and width wise) book on your shelf?

A guide to Edinburgh Castle. It looks more like a brochure than a book (hence the size), but it is 65 pages long so it is definitely a book.


Is there a book from a friend on your shelf?

Lots and lots! Half my window shelf consists of books I got from a friend when she cleaned up her own book collection.


Most expensive book?

It's hard to remember, but I think it is The Complete Novels of Jane Austen.


The last book you read on your shelf?

I honestly don't remember. I have been reading library books for so long.


Of all the books on your shelf, which was the first you read?

Probably The Little House In The Big Woods by Laura Ingalls.

Do you have more than one copy of a book?

Yes, I have 2 copies of Anne of Green Gables and These Happy Golden Years.



Do you have the complete series of any book series?

I have the entire Anne of Green Gables series, The Little House series and the Heartland series.

What's the newest addition to your shelf?

I can't pinpoint one book, as I got quite a bunch from my friend last summer.


What book has been on your shelf FOREVER?

Again, The Little House In The Big Woods. I think it was the first book my parents gave to me.


What's the most recently published book on your shelf?

Eleanor Park by Rainbow Rowell (published 2012). Haven't read it yet though.

The oldest book on your shelf (as in, the actual copy is old)?

A collection of Danish poetry I bought in a book sale once. (Published 1965) It contains a lot of the poetry I was required to read in high school. I didn't like it back then, but for some reason, as soon as it wasn't a requirement anymore, I suddenly wanted to read it again.


A book you'd hate to let out of your sight (aka a book you never let someone borrow)?

I consider myself quite generous when it comes to lending out books, but I would loathe to part with my Complete Novels Of Jane Austen.


Most beat up book?

One of my editions of These Happy Golden Years is an old library book, and it is in pretty bad shape with a lot of the pages loose. (Kind of the reason I bought another copy)


Most pristine book?

Most of my books are in pretty good shape, so any of my hardbacks.


A book from your childhood?

Most of my childhood books are at my parents' house. But I do have a Danish children's book that my grandmother always read to me called Kitty With The Blue Eyes (roughly translated).

A book that's not actually your book?

I realise most of my early book collection actually belonged to my mother before I adopted them. For instance my editions of Little Women, Rebecca, Wild Swans and The Collected Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen.


A book with a special/different cover (e.g. leather bound, soft fuzzy cover etc.)?

I have a Jack London book with White Fang and Call of The Wild, that has this pretty green cover decorated with gold patterns, and has a sewn in bookmark.

A book that is your favorite color?

My favourite colour is red... do I have any red books?
I have a german version of Treasure Island that is red. (Why in german? you ask. That is a long story)


Book that's been on your shelf the longest that you STILL haven't read?

That must be Cranford, it's been on my shelf for nearly a year now.

Any signed books?

No.