Susan Hated Literature

The Top 20 Revisited Reads:
1. The Harry Potter Series by J.K Rowling
   - yup. I’ve read and reread. Not all of them, but they are books I think I’ll continue to read.
2. The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
   - Of course. I read this every year for a whoile
3. Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
   - I’ve read it. And will reread it at some stage.
4. The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
   - See LOTR. Although I’d be less likely to reread this as it is more kiddy than LOTR
5. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
   - studied at college. And one I actually did read there. And I think I even reread it then. Not my fav. but well worth a read
6. 1984 by George Orwell
   - I’ve only read this the once.
7. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
   - Never read. I did start it but couldn’t get very far. Probably good for a train journey or the like though
8. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
   - Read this, and the other Narnia books, as a child, and have reread them in the past. Didn’t like them as much on my last reading so probably won’t be rereading any time soon, although I wouldn’t be totally averse to them.
9. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
   - studied this for my Leaving and reread it then. And I would again, and again.
10. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
    - I’ve only read this one the once. But it was v good and I would have no problems with rereading it
11. Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson
    Read it. And enjoyed it. Don’t know if I’d give it another go though
12. To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee
    - studied this for the Jnr. Cert, and reread it then. Must do so again at at some stage.
13. Flowers in the Attic by Virginia Andrews
    - read this as a teenager, and a few of the sequels, but I have no desire to reread it.
14. Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
    - awww. The first book I ever bought. Aged 8. And I reread and reread and reread it as a child. And I’ve just bought a copy recently, so this is definitely on the reread pile
15. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
    - Another that easily makes my personal rereading pile. I love this book
16. The Bible
    - Does going to mass and listening to bits count as having read it?
17. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
    - read it once and didn’t really get all the fuss. I do keep meaning to give it another go though, so we’ll have to wait and see.
18. Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding
    - I have this one in Sligo but haven’t opened it up yet.
19. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
    - I’ve never owned it, but I have borrowed it from the library and reread it at least twice.
20. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
    - this is one I’ve only read once. And I wasn’t blown away by it. Don’t think I’ll be rereading it any time soon

So, which have you reread? And are there any other books you love to reread?

The Story of the Tain
Author: Morgan Llywelyn
ISBN: 0749302054 DDC: 813.54
Read for the Once Upon A Time challenge.
See also: LibraryThing ; Táin Bó Cúalnge

The atmosphere surrounding the little boy vibrated with tension. He could not see the stifled anger and baffled desire, but he sensed their residue accumulating like dustballs in the corners of the fort. Unspoken recriminations crowded the silences; bitter glances were hurled like spears over small Setanta’s head.

When I first read this book I wrote the month and year inside the cover, so I know that I first read it in February 1994, but I’ve reread it plenty of times in the past 13 years. It has been one of my favourite books ever since. That might possibly be because it is based on the Irish legend of the Táin Bó Cúalnge, or Cattle-Raid of Cooley. The Táin is made up of a collection of stories, based around the heroes of the Red Branch, the warriors of Ulster, and especially Cúchulainn.

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Author: Guy Gavriel Kay
ISBN: 0586216774
DDC: 813.54
Reread with FantasyFavorites

On a morning in the springtime of the year, when the snows of the mountains were melting and the rivers swift in their running, Aelis de Miravel watched her husband ride out at dawn to hunt in the forest west of their castle, and shortly after that she took horse herself, travelling north and east along the shores of the lake towards the begetting of her son.

Blaise is a corran, a soldier hired by a lord in “soft, womanish Arbonne”. Recently arrived in Arbonne from the more martial, masculine Gorhaut, Blaise doesn’t like the difference in culture and society, and doesn’t want to understand the politics or lifestyle. All he wants is to be away from his home. To escape the past.

For Gorhaut has recently come out of a long war, and dishonourably in Blaise’s opinion. But Arbonne has a past of its own, and soon he finds himself caught up in the local feuds. And with his homeland at peace for the first time in many years its leaders begin to turn their eyes towards soft, prosperous Arbonne.

As usual with GGK’s books A Song for Arbonne is a character driven story, that is too true to the reality of life to offer a happy, resolved ending. Instead we get great characters, a good plot and wonderful language.

This was a reread for me, so I knew how it was going to end. But that didn’t spoil the story, instead it let me enjoy the book even more. Knowing the characters’ pasts gave a greater understanding of their motivations and actions, rather than take away from any sense of speculation and suspense.

And of course, it is that rare of books, a single volume fantasy novel, so of course I recommend it as a great read.

Author: Kelley Armstrong
ISBN: 1841493422
DDC: 813.6
#6 in the Otherworld series

Clayton doesn’t do “unobtrusive” well. Not even when he tries and that afternoon, he was trying his damnedest.

As the sixth book book in a series it helps if you’ve read the previous novels by Armstrong, but it isn’t essential. However, I’ve read them all, and enjoyed them. They aren’t “serious fiction” but they are well-written with humour and good characterisation. Perfect easy reading without being trash.

This is the third of the Otherworld books to focus on Elena and the werewolves, but some characters from other books do show up, or get mentioned. This time Elena has been asked to repay an old favour, by stealing a letter. Jack the Ripper’s From Hell letter, to be specific. And it seems a straightforward job, so, in exchange for some information on a mutt on a killing spree Elena and the other pack members decide it is worth the risk. Or at least Jeremy, pack alpha decides, and the others are happy to obey.

There is however a complication. Elena’s pregnant, and Clay is somewhat over protective. And then it seems likely that they’ve triggered a spell releasing The Ripper onto Toronto. Not only that, but he seems to be fixated on Elena as it was a drop of her blood that let him out.

Like all the other books in this series it isn’t too be taken all that seriously, but it is the characters that are important. And as they’ve featured in previous books we don’t have to spend a lot of time getting to know them, although they are changing a little as the series progresses. Which is understandable and good. They are still entertaining and believable, if you can call vampires and werewolves believable. If I’m totally honest this isn’t as good as the first two, and is a little predictable in places. Especially regarding some of the villains, but I still really enjoyed it. And will be reading more by this author.

KellyArmstrong.com -official site | Book Fetish

DDC: 813.54
read with Historical Favorites
Author: Margaret Atwood

First line:
Out of the gravel there are peonies growing.

Based on the true story of Grace Marks, an infamous murderer in Canada in the 1840’s, Atwood’s book uses different narrators to tell the story, as well as interspersing the story with extracts from other works. From poems, fiction, newspapers of the time, and other sources. Although this is based on the real story, Atwood has, of course, fictionalised a great deal of the novel.

The two narrators are Grace herself, who tells her story in the first person, past tense, and Simon Jordan, the doctor investigating her claims of insanity or innocence. His parts are told by a third person narrator, and are in the present tense.

These shifts in perspective, combined with the extracts, give a wider sense of the story, as well as letting us get to know the characters, and not just from their own viewpoint. the also allow us to see how each truly views the other:

although like most gentlemen he often wants a thing to mean more than it does”

Grace herself comes across as a very self-contained woman, calm and prudish. She has been in prison and the asylum for many years, so maybe it is not surprising that she be slightly strange. But despite that fact that she tells her own story we are never given one truth. Grace herself doesn’t seem to know what happened, but is this true, or is she just fooling herself?

and she said I was a treasure and she hoped they would never let me out of prison, as she would like me always to be there to help her with her dresses- Which I suppose was a compliment of a sort

Simon is an almost perfect example of the outward respectability of life in the 1800’s, while his wandering thoughts allow us glimpses of darker thoughts.

This is a very readable, enjoyable book. Atwoods gives us some very descriptive passages eg Grace’s journey as a child traveling from Ireland to Canada. And these balance the slightly unknowable reality that lies behind the story.

Behind it is the graveyard, neat and green, the dead kept under firm control. No rambling weeds here, no tattered wreaths, no jumble and confusion; nothing like the baroque efflorescences of Europe. No angels, no Calvaries, no nonsense. heaven, for the Presbyterians, must resemble a banking establishment, with each soul tagged and docketed and placed in the appropriate pigeonhole.

Quotes:

It is always a mistake to curse back openly at those who are stronger than you unless there is a fence between

because once the horse was out of the stable it was no good shutting the barn door, and a woman once on her back was like a turtle in the same plight, she could scarcely turn herself right side up again, and was fair game for all”

The truth is that very few understand the truth about forgiveness. It is not the culprits who need to be forgiven; rather it is the victims, because they are the ones who cause all the trouble. If they were only less weak and careless, and more foresightful, and if they would keep from blunderinf into difficulties think of all the sorrow in the world that would be spared

Author: Guy Gavriel Kay

ISBN: 0586215220
Book 1 of 3 The Fionavar Tapestry
DDC: 813.54

This is a reread for me, the reason being that we are reading the series at ffseries starting with book 2 as we read the first one in fantasy favorites. So in preparation I thought I might as well skim over this one so I’d know what I was talking about.

When I first read The Summer Tree I wasn’t all that impressed, thought it was quite standard fantasy, and, when compared to other books by GGK, disapointing. I’m glad to say that after my rereading I’d half to disagree with my earlier self.

Yes, there are quite a lot of the standard fantasy cliches; light and dark, a band of inexperienced possible-hero types, older magic figures, kings, maps, and a creature of pure evil. And it was probably these that threw my on my last reading, I wasn’t expecting this form of fantasy, so I didn’t really look past the surface.

Underneath the standard fantasy elements GGK’s writing shines through. His characters sometimes act, or feel, a little too much a little too soon, but overall they are fantasticly written. From the outsider Dave who is “too quick to renounce friendship” to Paul who is still recovering from the loss of his girlfriend.

Another possible reason I didn’t enjoy it first time round is the fact that five characters (Paul, Kevin, Jennifer, Kimberly and Dave) travel from our Earth to Fionavar. Usually the traveling to another magical world is done simply so the author will have a person as clueless as the reader who can ask the questions why, how, where etc. And there is a slight element of that here, but there is also another reason behind it.

The Summer Tree is an example of High Fantasy that rises above its own cliches, and is well worth a read.

Bright Weavings (GGK’s official site) | GGK | Infinity Plus interview with GGK

Author: Michael Horwood
ISBN: 0099443007 DDC: 823.914

Don’t be put off by the fact that this is a book about moles, because it a great story of love, hate, violence, forgiveness and courage.
A re-read for me, this has always been my favourite of the Duncton books. There are six in all, three in the Duncton Chronicles and three in the other series. But this is the best of them, I felt that the others got a little too bogged down in philosophy and Horwood turned slightly preachy with his pacifist moles.

Despite that, I will be on the lookout for the others in this series as I had forgotten how well written they were. These moles are full of life and personality, yet at the same time they remain moles throughout the book.

In essence this is a love story between Bracken and Rebecca, but it is also the story of how violence and hatred can be overcome.