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?

Jane Eyre (2011)

I've been wanting to watch Jane Eyre ever since it came out, and since I recently finished reading the book, I thought it a good time to watch it.

                                      

And it was a good movie, very beautifully made, but it didn't quite live up to my expectations.

But let me start with the things I like, such as the casting:

I was a little apprehensive about the casting of Jane, for in the book she is very plain and Hollywood have a habit of ignoring that and casting beautiful actresses anyway. But they actually did a great job with Mia Wasikowska, making her appear really simple and plain.
And her acting was also really good. I think a challenge in adapting book-Jane is that she thinks a lot but doesn't say very much, so the actress really have to convey a lot without words. But I think she caught the gist of it, and the important scenes were spot on.

                

Now, for Mr Rochester. Let me get my major peeve about him out at once: Michael Fassbender is way too handsome to play Mr Rochester!
That being said, he does a great job of the character. He certainly masters the piercing gazes and intense emotions. I'm just sad they cut out a lot of his and Jane's interactions, it didn't leave enough scenes to really get a feel of his character.

                

Judi Dench playing Mrs Fairfax was a delightful surprise (and my one squeeing moment of the movie, was when she appeared). She wasn't exactly like I imagined Mrs Fairfax in my head, but she made a great performance.

                

The casting of St John Rivers was just perfect, in my opinion. In my head I'd imagined him more like Rupert Perry-Jones, but Jamie Bell was an excellent alternative. My only regret is that due to time, large parts of his character is cut out, so he seems rather one-dimensional in the movie.

                 

With all this praise of the acting, you might think, then why was I disappointed in the movie?

The main reason is that the plot is way too rushed! Some of the time it feels like they are giving you a summary of the story with a number of short scenes. Then at other times they cut out huge plot points and dialogue, and I feel like you miss a lot of information.
I know I can't expect a 2 hour movie to be completely faithful to a 600 pages book, but they could easily have made it perhaps 20 minutes longer and gotten a lot more of the plot in there. At least in my opinion.

                  

However, I think my strong reaction is due to the fact that I just finished the book and was anxious to see it acted out on screen. I think I would have loved it unconditionally if I hadn't read the book.
And therefore I will in no way discourage anyone from seeing it, for it is a wonderful story.

                  

Content wise there is barely any. There is a few kissing scenes and you once see the characters in their sleep wear, but nothing inappropriate.

You know, I couldn't possibly review a period drama without commenting on the costumes.
I love them!
Jane's dresses are very simply cut, but I think that is what I like about them. These are the sort of dresses I wouldn't mind wearing myself.

                                    
This one is my favourite! I love the pattern and the little collar.


                  
It was difficult getting a decent picture of this one, but here you can see the lovely little bows at the front.


Now, as we draw near the end I think my final conclusion is: It's a beautiful movie with lots of good acting, and a timeless story that most will enjoy.
But if you've read the book, expect that a lot of scenes will be missing.