Tag: jane austen

Classics Mini-Reviews

June 17, 2014 DoingDewey Classics, Fiction 15

Title: Lolita
Author: Vladimir Nabokov
Source: library
Rating: ★★★☆☆

With Lolita, as with many classics, I’m definitely glad I read this just for the experience of reading it. Nabokov has a very unique writing style and Lolita is certainly a unique book. It’s also a book I’m happy to be able to discuss from experience. It was well written and I’m not at all surprised at it’s continued popularity. That said, I don’t know that I enjoyed reading it. The main sensation I experienced while reading this book was a desire to go take a bath, it was just that disturbing. I think it’s worth giving it a try to see if you love Nabokov’s one-of-kind writing style, but it’s (obviously) not a book to pick up if you’re just looking for something fun. Read more »

January Read-a-longs

January 8, 2014 DoingDewey Blogger Events 20

Lord of the Rings Read-a-long

I’m excited to re-read this trilogy! Especially since I picked up this beautiful, surprisingly slim anthology that includes all three book. Sign-ups are going on here and are hosted by Pages Unbound and Chasm of Books. Read more »

Sense and Sensibility Re-telling

November 1, 2013 DoingDewey Classics, Fiction, Re-telling 25

Title: Sense and Sensibility
Author: Joanna Trollope
Source: from publisher for TLC book tour
Rating: ★★★★★
Review Summary: This book was an incredibly similar experience to reading the original and it feel fresh again because of the change in setting.

There are two kinds of re-tellings. There are those which use the original as an inspiration and which become awesome by using the original material in creative new ways. Cinder is one of my favorite examples of that kind of re-telling. This is not that kind of re-telling. This is the other kind, where the source material is preserved almost entirely with just a setting change and this is by far the best example of that kind of re-telling that I’ve ever read. Read more »

Sense and Sensibility – A Bookish Movie Review

September 1, 2013 DoingDewey Book To Movie Challenge 9

51jzH2v5fvL I loved this movie, both as an adaptation and as an incredibly well done movie. In fact, I think I actually liked it better than the book. Obviously, in any movie adaptation there will be changes made to simplify the book into a two hour story. For the most part, I found the removed scenes in this book had adequate replacements. There were two small things that I felt changed essential things about the characters, but overall I thought the adaptation was quite faithful to the feel of the book.
Read more »

The Dashwood Sisters’ Secrets of Love

August 30, 2013 DoingDewey Fiction, Re-telling, Young Adult 6

Title: The Dashwood Sisters’ Secrets of Love
Author: Rosie Rushton
Source: library
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review Summary: Although nothing to write home about, this modernization of Sense and Sensibility was a cute, fun read.

Like the book, this review is going to be a quick, easy read. The plot is almost exactly that of Sense and Sensibility, just a modernized version. My first reaction was disappointment that the author didn’t even try to copy Austen’s beautiful prose or understated humor. Once I got past that, I was better able to enjoy the book for what it was. Elinor and Marianne were both updated very nicely. Like the actions of Austen’s characters, the update wasn’t predictable but just felt right. Of course Elinor would be good at academics! Of course Marianne would act! I was also impressed by the way the update translated events with no modern equivalent. For instance, some of the social constraints on the original characters’ actions have no longer exist, but the author managed to come up with suitable substitutes. Read more »

Sense and Sensibility

August 27, 2013 DoingDewey Classics, Fiction 21

Title: Sense and Sensibility
Editor: Jane Austen
Source: library
Rating: ★★★★☆
Review Summary: Austen’s writing is funny, beautiful, and engaging but I was sometimes disappointed by the sparse descriptions.

Originally titled Elinor and Marianne, in a way the book was still named after it’s two main characters. Elinor is eminently sensible, always putting her own feelings second to looking out for her mother and sister. Elinor is the exact opposite, entirely focused on her own sensibility and feelings with a complete lack of concern for the practical. Despite their dissimilarity, both sisters will face similar challenges as they navigate society trying to find love. Read more »