Nov # a book published before 1900
Lady Susan
Author: Jane Austen
Genre: epistolary
Page number: 58
First published: 1871
Setting: England in Regency era
Rating: 2 stars
First sentence: My dear brother – I can no longer refuse myself the pleasure of
profiting by your kind invitation when we last parted of spending some weeks
with you at Churchill, and, therefore, if quite convenient to you and Mrs
Vernon to receive me at present, I shall hope within a few days to be
introduced to a sister whom I have so long desired to be acquainted with.
One sentence comment: It feels odd to read an epistolary novel full of calculation for
marriages written by a young lady under 20.
It
means that Austen never believed in love. A romantic person became realistic
because she experiences hardship in life as she grows older. But if Austen saw
through the mask of marriages as a teen, how could she write romantic novels in
later years? I start to think that Austen had known that marriages are business
from the very beginning.
Nov # a book with a reading word in the
title
Mayhem at the Orient Express ( A League of Literary Ladies Mystery #1)
Author: Kylie Logan
Genre: cozy mystery
Page number:282
First published: 2013
Setting: An island off Ohio at present time
Rating: 2 stars
First sentence: If it weren’t for Jerry Garcia peeing on my pansies, I never would
have joined the League of Literary Ladies.
One sentence comment: It's most disappointing
that the author came up with the idea of a book club in a mystery, but had no
merit of book discussion.
In terms of character building, dialogs,
and plot development, this book achieves nothing. From the very beginning,
since the three women protagonists appeared, which seemed to signal a possibly
interesting mystery, they quarreled up to 50 pages before the murder happened.
You would think things could have taken a good turn, but their conflict went on
while the author were introducing more flat characters and boring conversation.
I didn't give up the book simply because I wanted to find out the solution. Then
I can sum up my experience, that is never trust a mystery series if its first
book is published after 2010.
Nov # a book included on Goodread’s 1000
books to read before you die
The Awakening
Author: Kate Chopin
Genre: fiction
Page number: 113
First published: 1892
Setting: Louisiana, USA in the late 19th
century
Rating: 4 stars
First sentence: A green and yellow parrot, which hung in a cage outside the door,
kept repeating over and over: ‘Allez ous-en! Allez vous-en! Sapristi! That’s
all right!’
One sentence comment: Told like a slow paced romance, this book, however, activates my
investigating mind, eager to find out the outcome.
It’s a languid story about Mrs Edna
Pontellier, a 21 year-old woman with children, supplied a comfortable life by
her husband. She is involved with two men, Robert and Arobin, one she loves and
the other she is pursued by. The courting in this book is peculiar and almost
unrealistic for a modern reader, like me; however, over a hundred years apart,
I get a chance to savor the writing about the powerlessness of a young woman.
When she decided that she ‘no longer one of Mr Pontellier’s possessions to
dispose of or not,’ I guess it is why the book was banned.
Nov # a book you would consider to be light
reading
A is for Alibi
Author: Sue Grafton
Genre: soft-boiled mystery
Page number: 308
First published: 1982
Setting: CA, USA, in 1980’s
Rating: 2 stars
First sentence: My name is Kinsey Millhone.
One sentence comment: It’s hard to relate to any of the characters in the book.
The
first sentence is bland and so are many others. I’m disappointed about this
book since I thought this long running series must be enchanting. It only tried
to tell a drama of a group of non feeling people.